From Downtown Toronto Ontario Canada and the shores of Georgian Bay & Blue Mountain, my Collingwood Shangri-La escape, I write about people and the goings on here and music, literature and life in general. Equally left brained (IT Project Manager) and right brained (creative writing and learning to play the Ukulele). Love live music and red wine and long conversations. Pull up a chair and join me from time to time and we shall share both thoughts and company! Blog comments welcome!

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Tuesday, April 14, 2009

At Two Ends of the Spectrum

A short blog tonight because I have other things on the cook.

Some Funny Videos:

I love Seinfeld. It was the funniest show on TV and I watched it religiously. TV has never been the same for me since it finished, honestly. My kids and my significant other, at the time, could quote whole episodes. (The kids also quoted Simpsons a lot also, but that is another story). I really enjoyed the Soup Nazi episodes.

Carnegie Mellon hosts a number of You Tube Videos on their site. There are University Lectures and Guest Lectures, and even a Panel Discussion which was chaired by Obama in July of 2008 - before he was elected, on Economic Competitiveness. Some of these lectures are presented in a similar vein as the TED lectures and are very interesting.

I found the one titled "The Last Lecture" given by Dr. Randy Pausch to be a particularly inspiring video. At the Carnegie Mellon University each year, a professor is asked to deliver "the last lecture". Dr. Pausch was asked to deliver the last lecture in Sept 2007. The Last Lecture Video has been seen by millions. A DIGG article says it is one of the 100 most iconic videos of all time. (It is a night for 100 ofs...)

There is a few notable things about this man and his lecture. After he gave this lecture he became a minor celebrity and was featured on Time Magazine, and (you can also see that on You Tube). You see this University Professor knew that he had not much time to live when he gave this lecture as he had an incurable form of cancer. Yet, the lecture is full of hope, optimism and happiness. It is well worth sitting back and watching. It reminds us that no matter how bad the cards we are dealt, the hand is what we make of it.

If you want to know more about Randy you can go here to see the April 2008 interview of Diane Sawyer with Randy Pausch. - Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3

From all accounts he was an tremendously inspiring and well regarded computer science professor. From this lecture and information presented about him through the interview wth Diane Sawyer, he had a lot more to offer us all. It is sad that his life had to end so early.

Carnegie Mellon Professor Randy Pausch, who is dying from pancreatic cancer, gave his last lecture at the university Sept. 18, 2007, before a packed McConomy Auditorium. In his moving talk, "Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams," Pausch talked about his lessons learned and gave advice to students on how to achieve their own career and personal goals.

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About Me

I have a great curiosity and interest in the many things around me. I love to travel, even if it is for a walk around the block. I have loved and lost, loved and thrown away and loved again. Currently trying to figure out whether there is a "Mr Right" in my future. My 5 adult children are reasonably self sufficient now and I have the time to indulge myself by exploring the things which interest me. I am now trying to figure out if I am really in retirement and if so how to reconstruct my life or if I am just taking a break from my career for a while.